Biology
Señor Robles
45 Things I know about Macromolecules
I am soooooooo smart
Carbohydrates
1. What is the general term used for macromolecules containing only the elements carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen?
2. What molecular formula do (ALMOST) all monosaccharides share?
3. What chemical indicator is used to show the presence of monosaccharides?
4. When two monosaccharides are chemically bonded together, what is the general term for the resultant
(and twice as large) molecule? Hint: read the next two questions.
5. A water molecule is removed in the formation of a bond linking together monosaccharides. What do
you call this process?
6. A disaccharide can be broken into its component parts by the addition of water. What’s this process
called?
7. Glucose + Fructose → ?
8. What do you call any chain of glucose molecules linked together?
9. What type of atom connects any two glucose molecules in any polysaccharide (or any two
monosaccharides in a disaccharide)?
10. Glucose + Glucose + Glucose + Glucose + Glucose etc. in long chains side by side → ?
11. What type of bond holds these chains together on their sides?
12. Where is the above polysaccharide found, and what is it used for?
13. What do we call it in the human diet, and how is it beneficial?
14. What is the storage form of sugar (a polysaccharide) found in the roots and tubers of plants?
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15. What is the principle storage form of sugar (a polysaccharide) found in vertebrates? (Your liver makes
and stores this when there is too much glucose in your blood.)
16. What modified polysaccharide can be found in animals, in the form of the tough exoskeleton of insects
and crustaceans?
17. What are the monomers that link together to form any carbohydrate polymer?
18. What is the difference between the terms polymer and polysaccharide?
19. What chemical indicator tells of the presence of polysaccharides like starch?
20. Draw the structural formula for glucose on the bottom of page three.
Lipids
21. Most fats/lipids are involve with energy storage, but some (like phospholipids and wax) have other
purposes. What are they involved with?
22. Fatty acids (and amino acids) always have this trademark group of four atoms:
23. What does an unsaturated fat molecule have that a saturated fat molecule does not?
24. What term applies to the fat molecule made of a single glycerol molecule attached to three fatty acid
chains?
25. What lipids (or fats) are structurally different from other lipids because they are composed of four
linked carbon rings?
26. What are three examples of these special lipids?
Proteins
27. What element does protein always contain in addition to the three elements found in carbohydrates and
lipids?
28. What other two elements are found in select proteins (think cysteine and hemoglobin)?
29. What monomers link up to form proteins?
30. Circle and identify the component parts of an amino acid (make sure to explain the significance of the R):
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31. A protein is composed of a string of amino acids linked together. What do you call
this string?
32. What kind of bond holds these amino acids together? How is it formed?
33. What do you call the four levels of organization of protein molecules?
34. What are two examples of the secondary structure of protein?
35. Fibrous protein includes collagen, elastin, silk, and keratin. Which one of these is abundant in skin,
claws, hair, feathers, and hooves?
36. What protein is involved in the transport of oxygen in your bloodstream?
37. What liquid indicator changes color in the presence of protein?
38. What class of proteins transmits messages throughout your body?
39. What special proteins have names that end (usually) with the suffix --ase?
Enzymes
40. What term applies to enzymes because they enable reactions to occur more quickly? Catalysts
41. What is a substrate?
Any molecule that an enzyme works on. For example, the substrate that lactase breaks apart is
lactose.
42. Name an enzyme that breaks down a disaccharide (two possibilities) Lactase, or sucrase
43. What do you call the area where an enzyme connects to the substrate? the active site
44. An enzyme helps chemical reactions by doing what? Lowering the activation energy required to start a
reaction.
45. Because enzymes and their substrates are so specifically matched, this term applies to their connection:
The lock and key hypothesis
Draw the glucose molecule here:
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Now let’s fill out the Graphic Organizer of Macromolecules
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